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Cultivation (At the beginning of May)

At the beginning of May, prepare seed beds on a south border, and sow the earlier and sprouting kinds. The later varieties would, perhaps, be best sown in April, but they must not be put in early and allowed to remain too long in the seed bed. Sow thinly, to get the plants as sturdy as possible; and, to prevent clubbing, work in a little soot or wood ashes on the surface of the beds. Care must also be taken to pick off the club excrescences at planting time, should there be any, and to destroy the grub inside. Clubbing is not so frequent in ground which has been well trenched, and where the plants are not allowed to suffer from drought. Showery weather should be selected for transferring them to their permanent quarters. If it is desired that they should succeed potatoes, they may be planted between every two alternate rows, and the latter crop can be removed when ready. Broccoli succeed best where the ground is firm, and not recently dug or manured. Planting with a crowbar is preferable to digging the ground afresh. If grown by themselves, a distance of from 2ft. to 3ft. should be allowed between the rows, and an equal distance from plant to plant. Some of the early varieties will, in favourable seasons, follow the later Cauliflowers, while the latest will not be fit for use until the following spring. The heads should be cut as soon as they are large enough; they will keep good for a week in a cold place, while a day or two might open them too much if allowed to remain on the plants. Broccoli which have to stand the winter are liable to injury from severe frosts, and some method of protection is necessary. Two plans are recommended for both large and small gardens, and either or both may be adopted, as found convenient. The first is to apply a covering of fern or other dry protective material, not using too much, but giving sufficient to break the rays of the sun, which, perhaps, do as much harm as the actual frost. The other plan is to take up the plants as soon as the flowers can be seen, and lay them in under a hedge or wall until required for use. In sheltered positions, or where there are trees to break the force of the wind, the covering with dry litter during severe weather will generally be found sufficient; still, a little precaution in lifting will frequently save a valuable crop. Broccoli should never follow a crop of any other kind of cruciferous plants, particularly Cabbage.

Sorts. Veitch's Self-protecting Autumn, Purple and White Cape, Grange's Early White, and Snow's Winter White. These are the best for autumn and mid-winter supplies. A good selection for spring and late purposes is Mitchinson's Penzance, Knight's Protecting, Cooling's Matchless, Purple Sprouting, Model, Willcove, Leamington, and Cattell's Eclipse.

BRODIAEA (named after J. J. Brodie, a Scotch cryptogamist). SYN. Hookera. ORD. Liliaceae. Pretty, slender, hardy, or in some positions only half-hardy, bulbs. The flowers are generally borne in large clusters or umbels; the scape is usually straight and slender, but strong. Leaves from two to four in number, enveloping the part of the scape beneath the surface, and procumbent thereon. Most of the species are of easy culture in rich sandy loam; if grown in pots, a mixture of loam, leaf soil, and sand, suits them well. Increased freely by offsets, which should be left undisturbed with the parent bulbs till they reach a flowering state, when they may be divided and replanted in autumn.

B. capitata (headed).* fl. deep violet-blue, funnel-shaped, disposed in a compact, many-flowered umbel; valves of the spathe also deep violet. May. l. narrow, linear. h. 1ft. to 2ft. California, 1871.

B. coccinea (scarlet).* fl. 1 1/2in. long, tubular, rich blood-red below, the apex of the tube and the segments yellowish-green; umbels composed of five to fifteen drooping flowers. June. l. linear, loose, shorter than the scape. h. 1 1/2ft. California, 1870. Very handsome, distinct from all other species, requiring a warm, well-drained, and sunny position, and to remain undisturbed. SYN. Brevoortia coccinea. (B. M. 5857.) B. congesta (close-headed).* fl. blue, with the crown paler; segments cleft at the top; umbel bearing six to eight blossoms. The stamens in this species are metamorphosed into fleshy scales, which adhere to the mouth of the perianth. Summer. l. few, long, slender, channelled on the inside. Bulb small, roundish, and much wrinkled. h. 1ft. Georgia, &c., 1806. A very free-growing and rapidly increasing species.

B. c. alba (white).* fl. white; in other respects like the type, but not so vigorous.

B. gracilis (graceful).* fl. deep yellow, with brown nerves, 1/2in. or rather more long, in few-flowered umbels. July. l. solitary, about 1/4in. broad, longer than the scape. h. 3in. to 4in. California, 1876. A scarce and rather tender little species, but very pretty.

B. grandiflora (large-flowered).* fl. bluish-purple, with entire pointed segments; umbels bearing two to seven somewhat scattered blooms. Summer. l. two to three or more, linear, pointed, slender, grooved on the inside, furnished with a few membranous scales. Bulb small, roundish, dry and wrinkled. h. 1 1/2ft. North America, 1806. SYN. Hookera coronaria. (B. R. 1183.) B. Howellii (Howell's).* fl. purplish-blue, about 3/4in. across, sub-bell-shaped, in many-flowered umbels. July and August. l. narrow acute, grooved, shorter than the scape. h. 18in. to 24in. California, 1880. B. ixioides (Ixia-like). See Calliprora lutea.

B. lactea (milky-white).* fl. white, usually with green midribs, 1/2in. to 3/4in. across, saucer-shaped, in many-flowered umbels. June and July. l. linear, acute, nearly as long as the scape. h. 1ft. to 2ft. California, 1833. SYNS. Hesperoscordon lacteum, Milla hyacinthina.

B. multiflora (many-flowered).* fl. blue-purple, very numerous, in sub-globose heads. May. l. linear, elongate, 1ft. to 2ft. long, rather fleshy. h. 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. California, 1872. (B. M. 5989.) B. volubilis (twining). fl. rose-coloured, in dense umbels, each containing fifteen to thirty blossoms; scape twining, sometimes 12ft. long. July. l. narrow, linear-lanceolate, 1ft. long, synanthous. California, 1874. Half-hardy bulb. (B. M. 6123.) BROMELIA (named after Bromel, a Swedish botanist).

ORD. Bromeliaceae. A genus of stove herbaceous perennials, allied to the Pineapple. Flowers, corolla three-petaled, convolute, erect, or spreading at the top. Leaves densely packed, rigid, lanceolate, with spiny margins. Stems short These plants require much the same treatment as Billbergia. Allied genera are AEchmea, Ananas, Billbergia, Disteganthus, Greigia, Karatas (which see).

B. antiacantha (opposite-spined). fl. purple, scarlet. Brazil, 1864. SYN. B. sceptrum.

B. bicolor (two-coloured).* fl. scarlet, in a close central sessile head. March. l. numerous, narrow, ensiform, outer green, central crimson; elegantly radiate. Chili, 1872. SYN. B. Joinvillei, B. pitcairniaefolia. (B. H. 14.) B. bracteata (red-bracted).* fl. pink; scape elongated; raceme compound; bracts red, ovate-lanceolate. September. l. serrate, spiny. h. 2ft. Jamaica, 1785.

B. Fernandae (Fernanda's).* fl. yellowish, in ovoid heads; bracts orange-red. July. l. linear-ligulate, 24in. to 30in. long, recurved, spiny-edged. Para, 1872.

B. Joinvillei (Joinville's). A synonym of B. bicolor. B. Karatas. See Karatas Plumieri.

B. pitcairniaefolia (Pitcairnia-leaved). A synonym of B. bicolor. B. sceptrum (sceptre-like). A synonym of B. antiacantha and Karatas Plumieri.